The present invention relates to compositions and method for drawing egel silk fibroin fibers. The resulting fibers can transmit light and hence can be used as optical fiber. Silk fibroin fiber is produced by a method comprising applying an electric field to a solubilized silk fibroin solution to create a silk fibroin gel converting the silk fibroin gel to a viscous silk liquid and drawing a silk fiber from the viscous silk liquid. The silk fiber of the invention can be used in materials such as textile, medical sutures, and tissue materials, as well as conferring optical properties into these materials.
